Burglar-alarm



(No Model.) A Y J.' H. LOWE.

BURGLAR ALARM.

No. 530,434. Y Patented Deo. 4, 1894.

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UNITED STATESv PATENT GFFICE.

JOHN H. LOWE, oF NEosHo, AssIGNoa or ONE-HALF To ARTHUR H.

WAITE, F JoPLIN,-MIssoURI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Iletters Patent No. 530,434, datedDecember` "4, 1894.

Application led .Tuly 20,1394. Serial 110.518,115.` (No model.)

To wZZ whom it may concern,.- p

Be it known that I, JOHN H. LOWE, of Neosho, in the county of Newton andState of Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Burglar-Alarm, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in burglar alarms and particularlyto such as are adapted to indicate when a safe or an analogous articleis being tampered with; and the object ot' my invention is to produce avery simple electrically-operated `arrangement, which is adapted tosound an alarm in case any attempt is made to reach a safe, and also toproduce a device which, on the closing of an electric circuit will fillthe room containing the safe with noxious vapors, which render itimpossible for a person to live in the room while such vapors aretherein contained, and which thus serve to protect the safe, but audiblesignals may be used in connection with the-vapor distributer, ashereinafter described, so that the safe is not only protected but analarm rung inin case an attempt is made to rifle it.

. To these ends my invention consists of certain features ofconstruction and combinations of parts, which will* be hereinafterdescribed and claimed. l

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis speciication, in which similar figures and letters of refer enceindicate corresponding parts in al1 the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my improved apparatus, as appliedto a safe. Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of the same, the circuit in Figs.1 and 2 being indicated in diagram. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical sectionof the vapor distributer. Fig. 4 is an inverted plan of the vapordistributer with its valve held in closed position; and Fig. 5 is asimilar view t0 Fig. 4, but with the valve in open position.

The safe 10 or other article is inclosed by a cage 11 which is of metaland may be arranged in any convenient way, the cage. as illustratedbeing supported on insulating blocks 12 which rest on the safe, and ithas 4a door 1la to permit the safe door to be reached without removingthe cage. Loosely suspended within the cage and entirely surrounding butnot touching it, are contact plates 13,`which are of conducting materialsuch as metal strips, Woven wire or anything suitable for the purpose,and the plates, as

illustrated, are hinged at the top, as shown'- at 14, and are alsohinged together at necessary intervals on theside edges, as shown at 15,so that in case any movement is given to the cage the plates will swingfreely and contact with the safe.

reach the safe, one of the plates contacts with the safe, thus closingthe circuit and sending in an alarm, the circuit being from the batteryA through the wire a, the safe, the contact plates 13, the wire a andthe bell 16 back to the battery. I have shown the apparatus arranged inan open circuit so as to ring the alarm by closing the circuit, becausethis is a simple way to illustrate my invention, but it will beunderstood that the apparatus may be arranged in a closed circuit asWeil and the connections madeso as to ring the alarm when the circuit isbroken by the displacement of one of the plates.

Asa further protection, I have shown the wires a and a connected bywires a2 and a3 with contacts 17 adjacent to an ordinary wire mat 18which is arranged in front of the safe and which, on being stepped upon,is depressed so as to engage, the contacts and close the circuit. As astill further protection, the

vapor distributer shown in' Fig. 3 may be artranged in the room with thesafe, which distributer comprises a case 19 having therein a transversediaphragm 20 which separates the .upper portion or chamber of the casefrom the lower perforated chamber 2l, and the upper chamber is providedwith a nipple 22 to permit air to be pumped into it under pressure forthe purpose explained below.

The diaphragm 20 has a central opening which is closed by a valve 23secured to the IOO upper end of a stem 24 which projects downwardthrough the bottom 25 of the case 19, in which it is threaded, and thestem has secured to ita laterally extending handle 26 which is normallypressed by a spring 27 so as to turn down the stem and open the valve23, but the handle is held, so as to keep the valve closed, by anarmature latch 28 which engages the handle and behind which is a magnet29 which may be included in the bell circuit already described 0r in aseparate circuit if desired, and when the magnet is energized it pullson the 'armature latch 28, releases the handle 26, and permits thespring 27 to open the valve.

In normal condition the valve is closed and the upper chamber ispartially filled with a mixture of equal parts of bisulphide of carbonand chemically pure prussic acid or other deadly luids, and air ispumped in under heavy pressure and retained above the iluid inthe case.If now the burglars, in an attempt to enter the safe, close the circuitreferred to, the magnet 29 is energized, the latch 28 pulled from thehandle 26, and the spring 27 swings the handle in a way to turn thevalve stem 24 and open the valve 23, so that the air pressure quicklyforces the fluid poisons downward into the perforated chamber of thecase 19, from the perforations of Which the fluids issue in the form ot'vapor, being atomized by the perforations, and the poisonous vapors lillthe room, thus making it impossible for the burglars to stay therein andHaving thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patentl. The combination with a safe, of an inclosing casingmovable relatively to the same and provided with electric contactsadapted to contact with the safe when the casing ismoved,

and an electric circuit including an alarm,

the said contacts forming one terminal of the circuit and the safe theother, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the safe, of the cage or envelope inclosing thesafe, contact plates suspended from the envelope and held out of contactwith the safe, and an electrical circuit including an alarm, the contactplates' and also hinged at the top, and an electric circuit including analarm, the circuit having the contact plates forming one of itsterminals and the safe the other, substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the cage adapted to inclose a safe, the easecontaining noxious fluids, and separate and independent from both thecage and the safe, the circuit closing mechanism in the cage, andelectrically-operated mechanism in connection with the circuit closingdevice and adapted to open the fluid containing case, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination, with the cage, of the case containing noxious iluidsunder pressure,

the valve-controlling the outlet of the case,

an atomizing device in the case, the circuit closing mechanism in thecage, and means for opening the case valve by the closing of thecircuit, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the cage and the circuit-closing mechanismtherein, of the case having an upper and lower compartment separated byadiaphragm, the walls of the lower compartment being perforated, a valvein the diaphragm, magnet-operated mechanism.

for opening the valve, and means for energizing the magnet by thecircuit closing mechanism in the cage, substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the case adapted to contain noxious fluids andprovided with upper and lower compartments separated by a diaphragm, theWalls of the lower compartment being perforated, of a valve in thediaphragm, a stem secured to the valve and threaded. in the case bottom,a handle on the stem pressed normally open by a spring, an armaturelatch to hold the handle and Valve in closed position, a magnet oppositethe armature latch, and a circuit closing device controlling the currentthrough the magnet, substantially as described.

8. The herein described burglar alarm apparatus, comprising a cage toloosely envelop the safe and provided with freely swinging gravitycontacts to engage the safe and complete the circuit, a valvednoxious-duid receptacle in the room with the cage, and an electricalcircuit in whichare included an alarm, the safe, the swinging contactsand the valve mechanism of the said Huid receptacle, substantially asdescribed.

JOHN H. LOWE.

Witnesses:

D. W. MARTIN, JAMES H. PRATT.

IOO

